


Pulled Apart

by hotelcortez



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Angst, Anxious Thoughts, Chan is protective, Fluff and Angst, Head Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Nervousness, Panic Attacks, Protect Stray Kids, Woojin is a mother, crowds, nothing graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 04:06:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16485617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotelcortez/pseuds/hotelcortez
Summary: When Stray Kids are caught and separated in a dangerous crowd, it doesn't take them long to realise they'll always be better together.





	Pulled Apart

**Author's Note:**

> Excuse my awful writing xx
> 
> This is basically something I wrote instead of doing my homework, please don't take it too seriously or think I am blaming any fans when I describe the actions of a couple of them here. This is not based on any real life stories or people, it's just something that randomly came out of my brain, even if I do think the horrible crowds that idols sometimes have to get through is an issue that needs to be addressed, as it is dangerous to both the idol and the fans. 
> 
> Also I have no medical experience or any idea of what the actual procedure managers would follow in a situation like this one, so please don't think anything I say on that is accurate as it is probably completely wrong. I also only describe the managers and first aider with they/them pronouns as I didn't wanna assume gender roles so you can imagine them how you wish.
> 
> Warning: panic attacks, fear of crowds, head injury, anxious thoughts. Please please don't read if any of this affects you, I really really don't want to upset anyone xx
> 
> Hope you enjoy xx

It took a lot of effort not to run and hide when Jisung spotted the large crowd him and his members would have to sift through to get to the cars waiting for them on the other side. He heard sighs from behind him and glanced around to spot Woojin and Hyunjin exiting the building he had just come out of, the rest of the band not too far behind. The three of them met eyes for a second and a spark of fear lit in the middle; they were well aware that large crowds of fans were just another part of the idol life, but that didn’t make it any easier to be surrounded by so many people, some of which that would happily manhandle you given the chance. They just had to hope today’s crowd would be okay; they had accepted the fact that personal space was never going to be respected but sometimes people did at least try not to touch them, maybe today would be one of those days.

Or maybe not.

Jisung shifted slightly out of the way when Chan slipped past him to stand in front of the group, determined to lead the way. He turned to look at them all, easily reading the anxious ticks each one was letting out; Jeongin was fiddling with his hands, Jisung was bouncing on his feet, Seungmin was trying to look anywhere but the crowd and Felix was clingier than usual, his nails slightly digging into where he was holding onto Minho’s arm. Minho didn’t seem to mind though; he, like Changbin, was generally unaffected by crowds and so was happy to help when the others got a little scared. Changbin himself had thrown an arm over Hyunjin’s shoulder and was impressed by how little fear Hyunjin was showing; the teenager had learnt to ground himself pretty well.

“Okay guys,” Chan said softly, taking a deep breath to calm his own nerves, “Let’s go.”

He turned slowly and entered the crowd, his managers and bodyguards immediately swarming around him. He took a few steps in and tried not to flinch at the screaming that suddenly filled his eyes and the intense heat that immediately encircled him. He felt a few brushes against his arm but was otherwise pleased at the lack of contact.

After walking a few more feet, he turned to check that all his members were following. He was now face-to-face with Jisung who was looking at him slightly nervously but seemed to be taking comfort from Woojin who was guiding him from behind, both of his hands planted firmly on the younger’s shoulders. Jeongin was next with one hand holding onto Woojin’s jumper in front of him and the other hand behind him, tangled with Seungmin’s who was next in line. Changbin and Hyunjin followed, the two seeming surprisingly calm given the situation, casting occasional concerned glances to the younger boys in front of them and Felix who was at the very back, clinging onto Minho from behind. 

Chan knew this wasn’t an ideal situation, but it was probably the best he was going to get and so carried on walking, putting his hands behind him and holding onto Jisung so as not to lose him in the horde.

They carried on slowly, occasionally flinching when something touched their faces or they were suddenly thrown in a different direction, but the chain they had managed to form through linking arms, holding hands and clinging onto each other’s clothes seemed to be holding up strong as they continued their journey. The screams were loud and the breath of hundreds of people was hot on his face but Chan found himself able to block it all out as he focused on one thing; getting his members to the cars. He knew his face must have looked angry, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Some of his members were scared and he didn’t like it when they felt like that. So, he trudged on hoping to get it over with, constantly double-checking that he could still feel Jisung’s hands firmly within his own and occasionally turning around to make sure he could still see all eight of the familiar faces that he loved. 

It wasn’t until they were about three quarters of the way through that everything went wrong. An especially excited fan seemed to have realised that they were approaching the end and wasn’t satisfied enough with their experience. So, they reacted impulsively and reached out to grab onto Felix, who was still at the back of the group, and pulled harshly on his jacket. 

The teenager had not been expecting this at all and was therefore unable to put up any resistance. He felt a jolt of pure fear in his chest as he lost his grip on Minho and was tugged backwards into the crowd. With so many feet surrounding him, there was nowhere for his own to go and so no way for him to balance, he could only pray that someone would catch him as he slipped and made his descent to the floor. However, the entire crowd had recoiled in shock and weren’t able to react quick enough to stop him colliding forcefully with the concrete. His head smacked back onto the ground, making a sickening crack ricochet through the air as a whimper of pain escaped his lips, stars appearing before his eyes as the pain travelled all the way down his neck. 

Chaos ensued after that. People immediately started running around and screaming, some calling for help whilst others freaked out trying not to step on Felix. Minho lunged down towards him, wanting to get to him before any of the fans were able to. Hyunjin tried to grab onto him but the chain had been broken and fans swarmed into the gap that was now between him and Minho. Changbin immediately grabbed onto Hyunjin’s arm on one side and Seungmin’s shoulder on the other, forcefully pulling the two into him so they would not be separated. Seungmin was thankfully able to firmly keep his grip on Jeongin’s hand and so the maknae remained with him. However, he had been so taken off guard that his hand slipped from Woojin’s jumper and the group’s oldest was suddenly pulled deep into the mob of screaming people. Jeongin could only pray that he had somehow stayed connected to Jisung and Chan. 

Jisung himself was already half-way to full-on panic mode. He hadn’t seen what had happened, but he had heard the sound of someone hitting the floor and felt the impact when the entire crowd started freaking out because of it. He was hoping with everything he had that it wasn’t one of his members who had gotten hurt, but with all the scrambling around he couldn’t even see most of them anymore. Chan had immediately been separated from him, the leader had whipped round to see what had happened and had unintentionally broken the contact between him and Jisung, allowing the crowd to pull him away as Jisung watched in horror as his terrified expression disappeared into the masses of people. The memory burned its way through his brain as he brought his hands over his head and clung to his hair, his entire body starting to vibrate as the people around him kept pushing, pulling, yelling. His breathing quickened and his eyes widened as he realised he might have a panic attack right here, right now, in the middle of a huge freakin’ crowd. Luckily, Woojin noticed, and he moved his arms away from Jisung’s shoulders and wrapped them tightly around his stomach, turning him around so that he was now pressed into Woojin’s chest. The older wrapped an arm protectively around Jisung’s head and whispered into his ear that he was safe, that it was going to be okay. 

The older was able to use his height to see over the crowd to where the cars were and all thoughts of courtesy went out the window as he started pushing and yelling his way towards them, feeling Jisung growing more and more panicked in his arms. Fortunately, people seemed very taken aback by Woojin’s sudden outburst of determination and so moved out of the way as best as they could, allowing Woojin and Jisung to be the first to make it to the empty area that the managers had cleared around the cars for them.

As soon as they reached it, Jisung’s legs gave out on him and Woojin slowly lowered him to the ground, uncaring of all the fans that were watching. Jisung ended up cross-legged on the floor, elbow resting on his legs and face buried in his hands as harsh, forceful breaths racked his small frame. Woojin was hugging him from behind, his lips pressed against Jisung’s ear as he whispered comforting words, one of his hands drawing patterns on the teenager’s back whilst the other was soothingly massaging his scalp. 

The two were still like this when a bodyguard emerged forcefully from the crowd, his hands wrapped firmly around Chan who was letting himself be dragged away from the fans. Being the first in line, Chan had easily been spotted by the bodyguards when he had been separated from the group and so they’d reached him relatively quickly and were able to protect him from anything serious. The leader was visibly shaken but that was more a result of worrying about the other members than of the crowd. 

The moment his eyes landed on Woojin and Jisung, he broke free of the man’s grip and sprinted over to them, landing on his knees in front of Jisung. 

“Thank god you guys are safe,” he breathed out, one of his hands coming to squeeze Jisung’s neck comfortingly as he finally seemed to be calming down from his panic attack. Jisung took one last deep breath before looking up at the leader, his eyes half-relieved to see Chan crouching in front of him but half-terrified at the fact that it was only the three of them there.

Chan seemed to read his mind, “Did either of you see what happened to the others?” he asked.

“I felt Seungmin pull Jeongin away from me, so I’m pretty sure those two are still together,” Woojin said, “And I doubt Seungmin would have pulled him forcefully without reason so Changbin must have had hold of him or something. I don’t know about the rest though.” Chan nodded, processing the information and turning to look at the crowd, wincing when he saw no sign of the others.

“Who was it…” Jisung stopped to take in a harsh breath, his voice cracking slightly after his panic attack, “Who was it who fell?”

“I don’t know,” both Chan and Woojin answered but Chan carried on, “I’m pretty sure it was one of the members or people wouldn’t have reacted so strongly. Felix was at the back, so I would say it was most likely him but honestly it could have been any of him, Hyunjin or Minho.”

Jisung nodded in response and clasped his shaking hands together, trying not to think too much about how scared he was for his members in that moment. Woojin noticed and shifted so he was sat down next to Jisung, he threw an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close.

“It’s okay, Jisung,” he said, “The bodyguards are out there looking for them, they’ll be okay.”

“I know, I know,” Jisung responded, “I just wish I could see them.”

“Me too,” Woojin said softly, watching Chan who was now stood up and searching the crowd with his eyes, his head whipping in all directions as he tried to spot his friends. He was about to give up and sit down when a bodyguard caught his eye.

Chan made a noise of recognition and pointed, causing both Woojin and Jisung to whip around and watch as three bodyguards hauled Changbin, Hyunjin, Seungmin and Jeongin out of the mob of people. The boys were a tangle of limbs, all clinging to each other in some kind of odd way. Hyunjin looked like he may as well have been carrying Jeongin but didn’t seem to mind as the maknae was practically paralysed in his arms, fear restricting his every movement. 

Chan dashed over and helped Hyunjin lower him down next to Jisung and Woojin, both of whom immediately reached out and helped the maknae lie over their laps, his breathing becoming slightly more regulated and his eyes showing recognition as he stared dazedly up at his other friends. 

“I’m so glad you guys are okay,” Seungmin practically yelled, running over and throwing his arms around Chan, who happily hugged back and threw relieved glances to Changbin and Hyunjin, both of whom nodded back, still slightly out of breath.

“I’m glad you’re okay too,” the leader said, relief evident in his voice, “What happened?”

“Something caused Felix to fall,” Hyunjin explained as Seungmin gently released Chan, “I don’t know what it was but from what I saw he didn’t just randomly trip. He landed on his back and was immediately swarmed by people. Minho rushed to him and I tried to grab him but Changbin pulled me away.”

“I hadn’t seen Felix fall,” Changbin went on, “I thought we’d all just gotten separated, so I grabbed Hyunjin and Seungmin, who grabbed Jeongin, and just tried to stay connected to them.”

“We kept moving until a bodyguard found us,” Seungmin said, “They could see the cars and we couldn’t, so we let them pull us out.”

“Are any of you hurt?” Woojin asked, his hand on Jeongin’s chest, happy to feel the youngest’s heartbeat gradually slowing down.

“I’m okay,” Jeongin said timidly and was able to crack a small smile when the entire group beamed at him.

“Yeah, we’re all fine,” Hyunjin said, “A little shaken but okay. But Felix…” Everyone’s head whipped up to him when he trailed off.

“What about Felix?” Chan asked urgently.

“When he hit the floor, I heard a really loud crack,” Hyunjin answered, “I’m pretty sure his head hit the concrete.” 

Everyone simultaneously winced, concern flying through their veins as they thought of their last two members still out in the crowd, possibly hurt. Jeongin found the strength to sit up and looked up at Hyunjin, his eyes shining with worry.

“Do you think he’s okay?” he asked shakily.

“I don’t know, I hope so,” Hyunjin said quietly, looking down at the floor, “I hope Minho was able to get to him before the fans did, I can’t imagine what it must be like lying down alone in that.” He gestured to the crowd and Jisung shivered with the chills he got at the thought of being in that situation.

“They’ll find them,” Woojin said soothingly, using his hands to squeeze both Jisung’s and Jeongin’s small shoulders, “And then we’ll take care of them.”

The group all nodded and Changbin went to stand next to Chan who had gone back to scanning the crowd with his eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of his last two members. Unfortunately, Changbin was a lot shorter than Chan and so wasn’t much help but he thought it was better than doing nothing. He noticed Seungmin and Hyunjin doing the same a few meters away whilst Woojin kept his role of comforting Jeongin and Jisung, who were still visibly afraid. 

A few beats of silence passed amongst the group before Seungmin let out a yell and bounced on his feet, pointing to where Minho was being tugged, rather unwillingly, out of the crowd. Chan raced over and felt his blood chill when he noticed Minho’s jacket was ripped and there were three long scratches stretching down his face, none of them were bleeding but they still shone a horrifying red. 

“Oh my god!” Chan yelled, cupping Minho’s face and preventing him from struggling, “What happened?”

“I was crouched down on top of Felix trying to help him and all the fans were trying to pull me off. One of them grabbed my face!” Minho half-shouted and Chan tried not to wince. He threw an arm around Minho’s waist and pulled him away from the bodyguard and towards the group.

“No!” Minho yelled, trying to turn around, “What about Felix?!”

Chan’s pulse ramped up in fear, “Is there someone with him?” he said, turning and clinging to Minho’s shoulders, eyes wide as he demanded an answer. 

“We both had a guard helping us, but my guard and his guard got separated. I didn’t see where they went, Felix could barely walk!” Minho responded, now in earshot of the other members. Chan’s fear quelled slightly at the news of Felix being with someone, but still remained prominent as the more he heard of Felix’s condition, the worse it seemed to sound. 

“Don’t worry Minho,” he said, trying to sound somewhat calm, “They’ll help him.”

They had reached the others now and they were all staring horrified at the injuries on Minho’s face.

“Does that hurt?” Seungmin exclaimed and Minho looked like he had barely thought about it, his expression changed to one of contemplation for a few seconds before he merely shrugged.

“It stings a little,” he said, “But it’s nothing serious.”

“Well, they’ll still need to be cleaned,” Woojin said, “We’ll get someone to do it when we get in the cars.”

“Yeah,” Chan agreed, “Our management should come to talk to us about this soon, they’re probably helping look for Felix now though.

Almost like Chan had summoned them, one of their managers started walking urgently towards them and cleared their throat to get their attention. All the boys turned to look at them, anxious to find out what was supposed to happen now.

“All of you in the cars,” they said softly but with conviction, “Minho, you get in the back car. We’re going to bring Felix into that one and get a first aider to go in with you. They’ll accompany you and clean up your face until we can verify whether Felix needs to go to a doctor. Chan you go with them, you’re the leader and we can’t fit all the rest of you in the front car.”

The entire group nodded and went to do as told. Seungmin, Hyunjin and Changbin quickly helped Woojin, Jisung and Jeongin off the floor and walked together towards their assigned car, arms linked. The bodyguards helped them in and closed the doors for them. Chan watched them go and then put his arm around Minho, leading him slowly over to the other car, trying not to think about what state Felix would be in when he finally saw him. 

Both Chan and Minho were comfortably sat down in the car with the door still open when a first aider climbed in and sat down next to Minho, throwing them a warm smile before turning around and reaching forward for something neither Minho nor Chan could see. They both adjusted their positions and watched as a bodyguard who was gently holding up Felix, who was gritting his teeth and pain and slouching in a way that suggested he was about to faint, started to hoist him slowly into the car. The first aider softly grabbed onto Felix’s arms and helped pull Felix up.

“Felix, honey,” they said quietly, staring down at the boy, “I’m going to need you to step up, can you do that for me?” Felix let out a noise that sounding vaguely like he’d understood what was being said before clumsily bringing his foot up and placing it on the floor of the car. The first aider smiled and wrapped their hand around Felix’s waist and hauled him into the car. The guard kept a hand cradled around Felix’s head to stop him hitting it again and another on Felix’s shoulder helping to push him up. 

Together, they were able to manoeuvre Felix so he was sat down in the seat and it was then that Chan and Minho realised his clothes were also ripped like Minho’s and that there were scratches on his face and what looked like bruises on his arms and legs from being stepped on. 

Heart constricting at the sight, Chan reached over and squeezed Felix’s knee, smiling kindly when Felix looked back at him with glossy eyes, a small grin tugging on his lips despite the obvious pain the action caused him. His hands were still shaking so Minho took them in his own and shushed Felix, telling him that it was okay, that he was out the crowd now and he was safe. 

The first aider finished talking to the bodyguard about what they knew about Felix’s condition before joining them back in the car, bringing their kit with them. Chan and Minho moved out the way to make room and turned forwards, noticing how the members in the other car were all sat the wrong way in their seats and watching Felix out the back window, undoubtedly curious about the condition of their friend. Chan sent them a quick smile and a thumbs-up, indicating that Felix was alright but unable to go into full detail about his condition. 

The front door of the car opened, and a manager climbed in besides the driver, none of the managers were supposed to be travelling with them today, but Chan figured the day’s events had caused a change in plans.

“Alright,” the manager said, “Let’s go.”

Soon they were moving, and Felix flopped forward and groaned at the lack of stillness, his head injury obviously making him feel sick. The first aider pulled out a sick bag and gently pushed it into Felix’s hands before bringing the boy’s head closer to the light and slowly pulling away his hair to reveal a swollen bump on the back of his head. Chan and Minho winced at the sight of it and unintentionally latched onto each other’s hands, squeezing each other when the first aider touched the bump and Felix let out a whimper. 

“Sorry, Felix,” they said, before addressing the manager, “I don’t think he’ll need a doctor but he’s definitely going to be feeling dizzy and nauseous for at least a few hours and he’ll need painkillers for the headache. I suggest we get him home, get him into bed, get him ice and a sick bowl and let him rest as much as he can. It’s going to be a miserable few hours for him but there’s really not much we can do except let the swelling go down.”

The manager nodded and put away their phone which they had been using to prepare to call for a doctor, “Okay,” they said, “Let’s go back to the dorms, you can clean up the scratches there.”

“Of course,” the first aider said, “I also want to look at a couple of the other boys – the ones that were panicking, Jisung and Jeongin I think.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Chan confirmed, and the first aider nodded.

“I just want to check their pulses went down okay and their breathing is regulated,” they explained.

“That won’t be a problem,” the manager said and went back to looking out the front of the car. Chan and Minho leant into one another and kept their eyes on Felix, preparing themselves for the rest of the ride home.

 

. . . 

 

It was now evening, and Felix was lying in bed clinging to his blanket as he threw up into a bowl, sweat dripping down his forehead and eyes crinkled in pain.

“It’s okay, Felix. That’s it, let it out,” Woojin soothed as he continued rubbing circles onto Felix’s back, barely showing the concern he felt towards the other. Hyunjin continued to stroke Felix’s hair, being mindful of the bump on the back of his head and making sure the bowl didn’t tip as Felix continued to retch. Tears began to pool in his eyes as he finally finished, and he moved to bury his face into his pillow, trying not to focus on the dizziness the action caused him. 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, hating how the members were forced to take care of him like this.

“Shut up,” Jisung said from where he was snuggled on another bed with Minho, the latter now changed out of the ripped clothes and the scratches on his face cleaned, “You have nothing to apologise for.”

Jeongin nodded in agreement from his position on the floor next to the bed and sighed contently when Minho’s hand flopped off the side of the mattress and landed on his head, fingers running slowly through his dark locks. Both Jisung and Jeongin had been declared okay by the doctor and told to take it easy for the rest of the day so as not to cause more stress. The whole group had happily complied, settling themselves in for a pyjama day in Felix’s room so they could still take care of him. It also felt wrong to be away from one another; no one said it but the accident in the crowd had scared them and they were still shaken from how fearful they were being separated from each other in a dangerous situation. Both Felix and Minho had been injured, Chan had been forced to fend for himself alone in the crowd, Jisung had a panic attack and Jeongin had been frozen in fear, the day had been horrible for all of them and they felt closeness to each other was the best way to remedy that.

The manager had wanted to speak to them, but they had asked to wait until the next day as there were too many things to discuss. They needed to talk about improving security, how to avoid this happening again and how to address the situation to their fans. The event today had trended no.1 on Twitter with numerous videos of some of the members panicking and Felix falling quickly going viral. Their fans were worried about them and angry with each other and the boys knew they’d have to release some sort of statement to try and resolve the situation. But for now, they’d tweeted saying simply that they were okay and that they needed to rest before they attempted to discuss anything. This had been met with general positivity and get well soon messages that all the members appreciated. 

Jeongin was still reading them when Chan, Seungmin and Changbin walked in carrying the various teas, coffees and hot chocolates the different members wanted. The maknae quickly put down his phone and helped to distribute them, smiling when Seungmin settled down next to him and put his head on his shoulder. Chan took a seat next to Jisung and Minho on the bed and joined in with their snuggling, his heart definitely not melting at the way Jisung squirmed playfully when Chan’s hair tickled against his neck.

Changbin chose to sit on the end of the bed where Felix was lying and Woojin was sat over him, Hyunjin crouched on the floor next to them. He squeezed the end of Felix’s leg and grinned at him when Felix slowly looked at him, freckles almost glistening in the light.

“How you feeling, Lix?” Changbin asked softly and Felix let out a weak giggle.

"Awful,” he croaked out, but he still managed to smile and the entire room brightened because of it. Everyone smiled back, unable to resist when they noticed the happiness now prominent in their friend. 

They may be exhausted, shaken and hurt with a lot of things still yet to be resolved, but as long as they had each other, they knew they’d be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope that was okay xx
> 
> Feel free to comment or anything, I really really do appreciate it
> 
> My Twitter: @hotelfelixxie - I follow back and sometimes I post little mini drabbles that are too unedited or short for Ao3 if you'd like to check them out (they're in my threads) xx
> 
> Have a beautiful day <3


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